Hello everyone!
"Daughter of the Seven Seas" is now published in Mindflights online magazine! It's at the link below:
http://www.mindflights.com/item.php?sub_id=6833
I am particularly fond of the story because it is the debut of my most mysterious and intriguing character: Maxine Njalsdottir. Known simply to her friends as "Max", this beautiful, cunning, and fearsome girl with "reptilian abilities" is Cassandra's complete opposite. Cassandra is kind, forgiving, gentle and loving while Max is...not. However, just like Cassandra, there is a lot more to Max than meets the eye, and I look forward to revealing that in "Fionnuala."
In other news, I'm currently developing the backstory of a knight named Magnus, who, along with Cassandra and Max, is a major character in the novel. I will not reveal anything else because I hate giving away spoilers, but suffice it to say that the more I write about Magnus, the more awesome he becomes, and I can't wait to debut "Fionnuala" and unleash him on the public.
That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Taking The High Road With "A Valiant Effort"
Shortly after completing the first draft of my Peace Corps Memoir, I was contacted by my friend, Abe, who had also served on Kosrae as a Peace Corps Volunteer. We talked over my previous title, "Island of Devils", which he felt was going too far. I took a few weeks to think it over and, after being contacted by my good Kosraean friend, Heinson, I decided that Abe was right. So I've now retitled my memoir "A Valiant Effort: How God Enabled A Peace Corps Volunteer To Give His All In The Caucasus And The Pacific." The title is a lot better and also captures the spirit I want my memoir to have.
Besides, despite my negative experience there, I did make some Kosraean friends. Heinson and Shrew are the best ones, but my vice principal also was amazing. I still remember the time when my children were getting rowdy in computer class and one of my students started blaring music from the speakers. It was right when my vice principal walked in, and I thought I was going to get my butt kicked. However, he turned and screamed at all my kids in rapid Kosraean and then turned to me, saying, in a very soft and reserved voice, that he just told them that they had to listen to me or they would lose their computer privileges, before turning around and walking out. My students were far better behaved than their American counterparts, due to the fact that Kosraean parents are actually allowed to discipline their kids without getting arrested or having them taken away by Social Services. That being said, I still had to go through some mild hazing as the new foreign teacher, but it was awesome to know that my vice principal was in my corner. In particular, I made the mistake of admitting that I had a crush on a local girl and every chance my students got, they teased me for it. It was all in good fun, though.
I finished typing up the first few chapters of "Air Wars" and hopefully will get to work on it a little bit each day. That being said, I don't have a lot of free time since I am getting used to being in a sales job again. I'm not worried because it's ADT Security; what I'm doing is the equivalent of a sales rep in the computer industry trying to sell Microsoft products. It's inevitable that someone is going to buy a system!
Anyways, "Daughter of the Seven Seas" is coming out on October 17, 2010. I'll post the link as soon as it comes out. You all will love it: it's awesome!
Besides, despite my negative experience there, I did make some Kosraean friends. Heinson and Shrew are the best ones, but my vice principal also was amazing. I still remember the time when my children were getting rowdy in computer class and one of my students started blaring music from the speakers. It was right when my vice principal walked in, and I thought I was going to get my butt kicked. However, he turned and screamed at all my kids in rapid Kosraean and then turned to me, saying, in a very soft and reserved voice, that he just told them that they had to listen to me or they would lose their computer privileges, before turning around and walking out. My students were far better behaved than their American counterparts, due to the fact that Kosraean parents are actually allowed to discipline their kids without getting arrested or having them taken away by Social Services. That being said, I still had to go through some mild hazing as the new foreign teacher, but it was awesome to know that my vice principal was in my corner. In particular, I made the mistake of admitting that I had a crush on a local girl and every chance my students got, they teased me for it. It was all in good fun, though.
I finished typing up the first few chapters of "Air Wars" and hopefully will get to work on it a little bit each day. That being said, I don't have a lot of free time since I am getting used to being in a sales job again. I'm not worried because it's ADT Security; what I'm doing is the equivalent of a sales rep in the computer industry trying to sell Microsoft products. It's inevitable that someone is going to buy a system!
Anyways, "Daughter of the Seven Seas" is coming out on October 17, 2010. I'll post the link as soon as it comes out. You all will love it: it's awesome!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Novel That Started It All
Now that I have finished writing up the first draft of "Island of Devils", I am typing up my handwritten manuscripts so that I have an electronic copy of everything I have written. The experience has taught me that secretaries are seriously underpaid. So far, I've only typed up fourteen pages of the book that first revealed the world that Cassandra lives in, which culminated in the publishing of "Heart of Flesh." I would gladly pay someone who could type over 90 wpm to do the whole thing for me if I had the extra cash on hand, since, at tops, I can only do 35 wpm. Maybe I can get one of my friends to do it in exchange for me picking up the tab at dinner or giving them a gift card to TGI Friday's. I'll just have to ask around and see.
Typing up my first sci-fi/fantasy novel brought back a lot of memories. I first started it when I was thirteen, and it was a serial in a newsletter my mom was trying to start with my brother and my friend Chris. The newsletter never really took off, but "Air Wars" (which was the first name of my series) soared. While heavily influenced by "Star Wars", it was really tongue-in-cheek and humorous, featuring people who were half an inch tall battling it out in paper airplanes, toy cars, and with superheated pins called "heatsabers." It grew into a book that had over 170 chapters and, near the end, inadvertently turned into a Christian work. I had no intention of writing Christian fantasy at first, but I read the final chapters over and liked the deeper meaning of the spiritual motifs and metaphors and added those in my later writing. I know that "Lord of the Rings" similarly did not start off as a Christian work, but was later "commandeered" by Tolkien's faith and he went back and deliberately weaved Christian symbolism into the book. I want to make it clear that I am a far cry from J.R.R. Tolkien. He was a genius who, through over fifteen years of hard work and careful revising, created one of the best literary works of all time, not to mention a linguistic mastermind. That being said, I think it's cool that Jesus decided to take over my work like he did with "Lord of the Rings" and to show me that writing to worship and honor Him would truly unleash the talent He blessed me with. It also helped that he gave me an amazing mother without whom Yangvaad and the other nations of my world would not exist.
Cassandra herself did not appear in "Air Wars." In fact, she was not supposed to be a main character in my Christian fantasy series at all. She was created simply to be the master of a young knight named Zarrah, who was far more integral to the series. I only wrote "Heart of Flesh" out of curiousity to see what Cassandra was like as a child, but she wound up becoming the main heroine of the entire series (which is no longer called "Air Wars", by the way). Although I am still taken aback at how much she changed the series, I am very happy with the direction it is going in now, and, once "Daughter of the Seven Seas" is published this month, I will focus on revising the novel which explains the origins of the greatest heroine of my world.
Typing up my first sci-fi/fantasy novel brought back a lot of memories. I first started it when I was thirteen, and it was a serial in a newsletter my mom was trying to start with my brother and my friend Chris. The newsletter never really took off, but "Air Wars" (which was the first name of my series) soared. While heavily influenced by "Star Wars", it was really tongue-in-cheek and humorous, featuring people who were half an inch tall battling it out in paper airplanes, toy cars, and with superheated pins called "heatsabers." It grew into a book that had over 170 chapters and, near the end, inadvertently turned into a Christian work. I had no intention of writing Christian fantasy at first, but I read the final chapters over and liked the deeper meaning of the spiritual motifs and metaphors and added those in my later writing. I know that "Lord of the Rings" similarly did not start off as a Christian work, but was later "commandeered" by Tolkien's faith and he went back and deliberately weaved Christian symbolism into the book. I want to make it clear that I am a far cry from J.R.R. Tolkien. He was a genius who, through over fifteen years of hard work and careful revising, created one of the best literary works of all time, not to mention a linguistic mastermind. That being said, I think it's cool that Jesus decided to take over my work like he did with "Lord of the Rings" and to show me that writing to worship and honor Him would truly unleash the talent He blessed me with. It also helped that he gave me an amazing mother without whom Yangvaad and the other nations of my world would not exist.
Cassandra herself did not appear in "Air Wars." In fact, she was not supposed to be a main character in my Christian fantasy series at all. She was created simply to be the master of a young knight named Zarrah, who was far more integral to the series. I only wrote "Heart of Flesh" out of curiousity to see what Cassandra was like as a child, but she wound up becoming the main heroine of the entire series (which is no longer called "Air Wars", by the way). Although I am still taken aback at how much she changed the series, I am very happy with the direction it is going in now, and, once "Daughter of the Seven Seas" is published this month, I will focus on revising the novel which explains the origins of the greatest heroine of my world.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
"Island of Devils" Draft 1 Complete, "Daughter of the Seven Seas" coming out next month!
Today I successfully completed draft one of my Peace Corps autobiography, tentatively titled "Island of Devils." I am really happy that I reached this milestone and am taking a break before typing up it and my other handwritten manuscripts.
In other news, my short story, "Daughter of the Seven Seas", is due to be published by Mindflights magazine next month. I'm not giving away any plot details, but it takes place in the same world as "Heart of Flesh" and features Cassandra again. You can read "Heart of Flesh" by clicking on it under my links.
I've also been developing one of Cassandra's classmates, who plays a major role in the two sequels to "Fionnuala." I wrote one excerpt about her in which she came across much older than I intended. She was supposed to be twelve but came across as a jaded seventeen-year-old. I went ahead and edited it and made her fourteen, but changed her voice so that she sounded younger. Not only did she really come to life, but so did her older sister, who I plan to include in the series as well.
I'm going to update this blog weekly from now on. I fell a bit behind because I started a new job and had to take care of a lot of other things in my life, but now those are settled and I'm ready to "rock out with my blog out!" Wooooo!
Stay posted.
In other news, my short story, "Daughter of the Seven Seas", is due to be published by Mindflights magazine next month. I'm not giving away any plot details, but it takes place in the same world as "Heart of Flesh" and features Cassandra again. You can read "Heart of Flesh" by clicking on it under my links.
I've also been developing one of Cassandra's classmates, who plays a major role in the two sequels to "Fionnuala." I wrote one excerpt about her in which she came across much older than I intended. She was supposed to be twelve but came across as a jaded seventeen-year-old. I went ahead and edited it and made her fourteen, but changed her voice so that she sounded younger. Not only did she really come to life, but so did her older sister, who I plan to include in the series as well.
I'm going to update this blog weekly from now on. I fell a bit behind because I started a new job and had to take care of a lot of other things in my life, but now those are settled and I'm ready to "rock out with my blog out!" Wooooo!
Stay posted.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Writing Update 7: Host Family Wars-Eclipse of the Baptist
In my Peace Corps memoir, I've reached the month of February right before In-Service Training. At this point, I already decided to leave the Congregational church to join the Baptist church. I did anticipate problems with this, since life on Kosrae revolved around the Congregational church. However, I thought it would be along the lines of not being able to see my friends as much as I wanted because they would be busy at choir practice, etc.
In reality, what I did was the equivalent of converting to Christianity in Iran.
After I became a Baptist, my host family either ignored me completely, or looked for reasons to yell at me. They were passive-aggressive to the point of not even buying toilet paper anymore, in spite of being paid by Peace Corps for that and other basic necessities (I decided to pay out-of-pocket). They accused me of being antisocial and then brushed me off whenever I tried to talk to them. One event I remember is when they screamed at me in front of Gibon, my neighbor and one of my favorite students, because I asked them not to put Chef Boyardee noodles on top of my rice. I did not see a problem with this, because my host mother had said when I moved in that all I had to do was ask and she would prepare my food "any way I liked." Of course, that was a complete lie, and gave them another excuse to yell at me. The truth finally came out when, after I was accused of avoiding them yet again, I pointed out that I couldn't do it if I tried since they were never around the house.
"Do you know why we are never around the house?" My host mother bellowed, "Because we are out doing church stuff!"
To me the entire situation was ridiculous. I did sign up to integrate into another culture, but I never agreed to give up my faith to appease my host family. In fact, I'd already decided that if I had to choose between God and Peace Corps, I was going to choose God. It was a no-brainer. God had sent His Son to die for me, and it would have been the ultimate slap-in-the-face if I caved to family pressure. Not to mention that, with their behavior, my host family wasn't making a good case for their faith.
Anyway, I was getting sick of these stupid arguments at this point and was looking forward to In-Service Training, where I would get to spend three days at Tree Lodge, my favorite hotel on the island, with hot showers and the famous "Bully Burger", a delicious tuna burger that was only $5.50 for a meal. I would also get to hang out with my best friend on the island, Richard, as well as the World Teach Volunteers and the previous class of Peace Corps Volunteers, who were awesome. Sadly, I've fallen out of touch with a lot of them due to everyone working in different parts of the world. But I did just hear back from Emily, one of my closest friends on Kosrae, and am ecstatic that she finally got a job doing medical research, something she had wanted to do for years.
In other news, I've been doing a lot of work with my church's Mobile Evangelism Unit and yesterday, my friend, Mr. Charles, and I led three teenagers to Christ. It was amazing because I had never helped anyone get saved before. I love volunteering with that unit and can't wait until the next time we go out. I also hope that my Peace Corps memoir will lead people to Christ, once they see how he helped me through that experience.
That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted.
In reality, what I did was the equivalent of converting to Christianity in Iran.
After I became a Baptist, my host family either ignored me completely, or looked for reasons to yell at me. They were passive-aggressive to the point of not even buying toilet paper anymore, in spite of being paid by Peace Corps for that and other basic necessities (I decided to pay out-of-pocket). They accused me of being antisocial and then brushed me off whenever I tried to talk to them. One event I remember is when they screamed at me in front of Gibon, my neighbor and one of my favorite students, because I asked them not to put Chef Boyardee noodles on top of my rice. I did not see a problem with this, because my host mother had said when I moved in that all I had to do was ask and she would prepare my food "any way I liked." Of course, that was a complete lie, and gave them another excuse to yell at me. The truth finally came out when, after I was accused of avoiding them yet again, I pointed out that I couldn't do it if I tried since they were never around the house.
"Do you know why we are never around the house?" My host mother bellowed, "Because we are out doing church stuff!"
To me the entire situation was ridiculous. I did sign up to integrate into another culture, but I never agreed to give up my faith to appease my host family. In fact, I'd already decided that if I had to choose between God and Peace Corps, I was going to choose God. It was a no-brainer. God had sent His Son to die for me, and it would have been the ultimate slap-in-the-face if I caved to family pressure. Not to mention that, with their behavior, my host family wasn't making a good case for their faith.
Anyway, I was getting sick of these stupid arguments at this point and was looking forward to In-Service Training, where I would get to spend three days at Tree Lodge, my favorite hotel on the island, with hot showers and the famous "Bully Burger", a delicious tuna burger that was only $5.50 for a meal. I would also get to hang out with my best friend on the island, Richard, as well as the World Teach Volunteers and the previous class of Peace Corps Volunteers, who were awesome. Sadly, I've fallen out of touch with a lot of them due to everyone working in different parts of the world. But I did just hear back from Emily, one of my closest friends on Kosrae, and am ecstatic that she finally got a job doing medical research, something she had wanted to do for years.
In other news, I've been doing a lot of work with my church's Mobile Evangelism Unit and yesterday, my friend, Mr. Charles, and I led three teenagers to Christ. It was amazing because I had never helped anyone get saved before. I love volunteering with that unit and can't wait until the next time we go out. I also hope that my Peace Corps memoir will lead people to Christ, once they see how he helped me through that experience.
That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Writing Update 6: Winter Meltdown
This past week I got to the part in my Peace Corps autobiography where my first counterpart had a meltdown in the middle of class. It was over something really silly: all I did was ask the vice principal if an activity that we were doing in class was fine. The children were getting in and out of a large box. It was totally harmless, but, coming from a country where a parent can sue the school for any number of totally harmless things, I just wanted to make sure that this was alright. The vice principal said it was okay, so I just went back to class and forgot about the whole thing. Unfortunately, the clerk gossiped to my counterpart about my conversation with the vice principal and you can guess what happened after that. Suffice it to say that I was somewhat relieved when the principal said that I could work with someone else.
Thankfully, I got to work with Pomeroy, the best teacher in the school. I transferred to his class right when he was about to go into the Civil Rights Movement, so I got to give an excellent lesson about Rosa Parks. I got him and our students to reenact the story of how she bravely refused to give up her seat to a white man, the act that kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. To date, that is still my favorite class. I look forward to writing about it in the upcoming weeks, as well as my students, who were my favorite people on the island.
I still jot down ideas for my "Fionnuala" series. In particular, I write down details about Max, Cassandra's closest friend, a mysterious and beautiful assassin who, when they were children at the hellish Nineveh Academy, stuck her neck out to keep Cassandra from being killed by the gang that ran the school. I look forward to developing her more as a character once I finish my autobiography.
That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted.
Thankfully, I got to work with Pomeroy, the best teacher in the school. I transferred to his class right when he was about to go into the Civil Rights Movement, so I got to give an excellent lesson about Rosa Parks. I got him and our students to reenact the story of how she bravely refused to give up her seat to a white man, the act that kicked off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. To date, that is still my favorite class. I look forward to writing about it in the upcoming weeks, as well as my students, who were my favorite people on the island.
I still jot down ideas for my "Fionnuala" series. In particular, I write down details about Max, Cassandra's closest friend, a mysterious and beautiful assassin who, when they were children at the hellish Nineveh Academy, stuck her neck out to keep Cassandra from being killed by the gang that ran the school. I look forward to developing her more as a character once I finish my autobiography.
That's it for now. Until next time, stay posted.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Writing Update 5: Focused Intensity, Islander Style
In an effort to complete my rough draft about my Peace Corps experience before I forget everything, I've temporarily suspended my other projects. Movie reviews have been postponed until further notice and "Fionnuala" is going to be set aside until July. It's really important to me that I write everything down while I still have the particular details clearly in mind. I still remember how I chose not to do that for my Spain trip. Now all I remember are the city names and the people I traveled with. Nothing is worse than not being able to remember an awesome experience abroad and I refuse to let that happen with this experience, which was a major landmark in my life.
I've reached the point where I make it on television yet again. The first time was on Armenian TV with my Peace Corps Georgia friends while we were waiting to cross the border. I'm sure they got some sweet footage of me playing catch in no-man's land and proving that I would have been a Superbowl champion in an alternate reality. The second time was Thanksgiving Day in 2008 on Kosrae, and my family still has the DVD. Like the majority of my adventures in life, this one was completely unintentional. I just volunteered to sing with my village because it seemed fun and reminded me of when I used to impress my friends by singing "West Side Story" songs in 8th grade. I had no idea it was being televised until a few days later, when random Kosraeans started talking to me.
Kosraean: Hey, I saw you on TV, Tulensa!
(Tulensa was my Kosraean name)
Me: Huh? I was on TV?
Kosraean: Yeah, for the Thanksgiving Day event in Lelu. Kom samat ke on! (You're good at singing!)
Me: Really? I got to check that out! Kuloh ma lalap! (Thank you very much!)
After twenty conversations like that, I finally did check it out, and indeed, my handsome young face was given a great deal of screentime. I was fairly decent too, considering I was with people who'd been singing since they were two years old. It was definitely one of my better memories of Kosrae.
I hope to be finished with my rough draft by June 30th. After that, I'm going to edit "Fionnuala" so that I can return to my Peace Corps Memoir with fresh eyes.
Stay posted!
I've reached the point where I make it on television yet again. The first time was on Armenian TV with my Peace Corps Georgia friends while we were waiting to cross the border. I'm sure they got some sweet footage of me playing catch in no-man's land and proving that I would have been a Superbowl champion in an alternate reality. The second time was Thanksgiving Day in 2008 on Kosrae, and my family still has the DVD. Like the majority of my adventures in life, this one was completely unintentional. I just volunteered to sing with my village because it seemed fun and reminded me of when I used to impress my friends by singing "West Side Story" songs in 8th grade. I had no idea it was being televised until a few days later, when random Kosraeans started talking to me.
Kosraean: Hey, I saw you on TV, Tulensa!
(Tulensa was my Kosraean name)
Me: Huh? I was on TV?
Kosraean: Yeah, for the Thanksgiving Day event in Lelu. Kom samat ke on! (You're good at singing!)
Me: Really? I got to check that out! Kuloh ma lalap! (Thank you very much!)
After twenty conversations like that, I finally did check it out, and indeed, my handsome young face was given a great deal of screentime. I was fairly decent too, considering I was with people who'd been singing since they were two years old. It was definitely one of my better memories of Kosrae.
I hope to be finished with my rough draft by June 30th. After that, I'm going to edit "Fionnuala" so that I can return to my Peace Corps Memoir with fresh eyes.
Stay posted!
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